THE DEFINITION OF BRAVERY

Bravery takes many forms.  
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Bravery can mean raising your hand or risking your life, and every awe-inspiring increment in between.  
Bravery is both sacrifice and taking what you need. It can be a war cry or a lesson in tolerance. 

Some days it is an act of bravery to simply get out bed. It’s to brush your teeth with a trembling hand and take that first step out of the front door.

Other times bravery can look like an incomprehensible, selfless act of courage; an action so bold that the whole world stops to stare. 

Bravery is standing up for what it is right. It is to know who are you, what you believe in and then using this knowledge as a moral compass. 

It is brave to be the person who stands out from the crowd. To speak up even though your voice shakes, and become the voice you need to hear, or a voice for others. 

To be brave is to raise the white flag of surrender, to leave a relationship, a job, a lifestyle, or a place, and embrace the possibility of the unknown. 

It is brave to accept defeat with wisdom and not resentment. When you decide to stop in your tracks or change course, even when everyone around you is pushing in the same direction. 

Empathy is at the heart of bravery. It is empathy for yourself and empathy for those around you. From a daring feat of self-care to valiantly taking care of others. 

Bravery may be born from a conscious decision of the mind, an instinct deep in your gut or calling from your soul. 

Bravery can be invisible to every human on the planet other than you.  It can be the most quiet of choices or a cacophony of clamouring actions. 

Bravery is to be alive. It is an act of bravery to face each day and walk forwards into all that life has to offer. 

It’s showing up day after day, even when this means pushing past barriers in your own mind. Even when your stomach churns and your heart feels like it might explode from your chest. 

Bravery is deciding that now is a better time than never.

To be brave is to look fear in the eyes and break free from its grip. When we feel afraid and persist regardless. It’s screaming ‘I CAN DO THIS’ into the relentless whirlwinds of the storm. 

Whether an act of courage, of endurance, or of authenticity, bravery manifests from a place of love. Love for yourself and love for others. To be brave is to be scared, but to know that you love, more than you fear. 

Bravery is at one with love.

By Sarah Oakley and Kayleigh Bell Razaq

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